Samlingene

Samlingene is the definite plural form of the Norwegian noun samling. Samling has several related meanings: it can refer to a group of objects that have been collected, i.e., a collection, or to an act of gathering people, i.e., an assembly or meeting. The precise meaning depends on context, and samlingene is used when referring to specific collections or gatherings that are known to the speaker and listener.

In institutional contexts, samlinger is the standard term for holdings and collections. Museums, libraries and archives describe their assets as part of their samlinger, for example museets samlinger (the museum’s collections) or fotografiske samlinger (photographic collections). The management of samlinger typically involves cataloging, conservation, and making the items accessible to the public through loans, exhibitions, and digital platforms.

In everyday language, samling can also denote a gathering of people, though for organized events the terms for assembly or meeting, such as forsamling or møte, are more common. When used in plural form, samlingene can refer to multiple such gatherings or, more often in cultural contexts, to multiple collections, for instance kunst- og historiske samlinger (art and historical collections).

Spelling and dialect forms: Bokmål uses samlingene as the definite plural, while Nynorsk commonly writes samlingane. The base form samling is related to the verb samle, meaning to gather or to collect, and the word appears across cultural, educational, and everyday Norwegian language.